Lee Child and Jack Reacher

The following is a YouTube of Lee Child talking about his character Jack Reacher in which he reveals two facts about Reacher that he has not spoken of before.



I love the Reacher stories. He is a former U.S. Army Military Police Major. He served thirteen years, was mustered out, and now lives with no permanent address, no suitcase, and no income. He is an unconventional character with the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes. His adventures are twisting and require unique skills to solve. I was captured by the series on the first page of the first one I read. There are eleven in the series so far. I'll list them for you:

1. Killing Floor 1997
2. Die Trying 1998
3. Tripwire 1999
4. Running Blind 2000
5. Echo Burning 2001
6. Without Fail 2002
7. Persuader 2003
8. The Enemy 2004
9. One Shot 2005
10. The Hard Way 2006
11. Bad Luck and Trouble 2007

Lee Child is in his 50's so the series could have a long run if he doesn't get tired of the character. I think Child's skill as a writer will continue even if he does and the compelling stories will continue.

If you are looking for a good book give one of these a try. They were a jackpot for me.

Ten Best Detective Novels

Currently reading:
The Scent of Blood
by Raymond Miller
Genre: Crime
Date started: September 18
Reason: Cover blurb by Lee Child

Waiting:
The 47th Samurai
by Stephen Hunter

The following list is lifted from Crime Fiction Dossier. I like the concept although my list would vary some from it.

10 Greatest Detective Novels (in alphabetical order):

• Lawrence Block - When the Sacred Ginmill Closes
• Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye
  
• Michael Connelly - The Black Echo
• Robert Crais - L.A. Requium
• James Crumley - The Last Good Kiss
• Dashiell Hammett - The Maltese Falcon
• John D. MacDonald -- The Dreadful Lemon Sky
• Walter Mosley - The Devil in A Blue Dress
• Robert B. Parker - Looking for Rachel Waller
• Rex Stout - The League of Frightened Men

The list is going to drive me back into the dusty lairs to locate the Chandler, Hammett, and the Stout. All the rest I am conversant with and would rank highly but if I read the three older titles I don't remember it so I will do my homework and take a look at them.

There is an interesting conversation associated with the original post that expands and confirms the list, check it out. Some readers criticized the list for excluding women and mention Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Cristie. How does the list strike you? Did they miss any that you would like to see on the list? Let me know. I like Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins but I don't think he rates the 10 Best list, what about one of Stuart Kaminsky's detectives like Lieberman or Rostnikov? And what about Dana Stabenow, Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini, or James Lee Burke? Not to mention Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko and Ed McBain's 87th Precinct. And if the list is going to be inclusive I would have to go with Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, I mean gimme a break.

They say Poe created the genre with Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) but Holmes breathed life into it from 1887 until 1930 and deserves top billing.

At our Friends of the Library book sale a couple of weeks ago I picked up a 10 cent bargain, 221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes by Vincent Starrett, which reminded me of his poem:

221B

Here dwell together still two men of note
Who never lived and so can never die:
How very near they seem, yet how remote
That age before the world went all awry.
But still the game’s afoot for those with ears
Attuned to catch the distant view-halloo:
England is England yet, for all our fears–
Only those things the heart believes are true.

A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane
As night descends upon this fabled street:
A lonely hansom splashes through the rain,
The ghostly gas lamps fail at twenty feet.
Here, though the world explode, these two survive,
And it is always eighteen ninety-five.

– Vincent Starrett

For me 10 won't work, I could maybe work with the 25 best, but the 50 best would be even better.

Author Websites

This morning I had the latest newsletter from Stop, You're Killing Me! in my in basket. It is a twice-monthly posting about mystery authors, characters, and forthcoming books. The site was started by Bonnie Brown in 1998 and later taken over by Lucinda Surber & Stan Ulrich when Ms. Brown's health forced a change. Quoting from the site about why it was created:

“I love a good mystery! When I find new authors, I want to read everything they’ve written. I like to go back to the beginning title and follow the development of a writer's work. With the exception of Sue Grafton and her alphabet series, it can be difficult to find an author's first book. So I have searched online and in reference books to list the books featuring series characters in the order written. Of course, some good mystery and suspense writers don’t use a series character—these are included in the order written.

This site has a straightforward format. The books are arranged by author, series character, and by date written.”

I visit the site frequently when I want to see the complete bibliography of an author or to jog my memory about a character I remember but can no longer place with a title or an author. There are those of us who relish finding a new author that we like who has a long list of titles that can be savored and this is a great site to help with the search for the complete run of work for many authors. You can subscribe to their newsletter here.

Over the weekend I picked up an old favorite, Charles Willeford's New Hope for the Dead (Vintage, 2004) the third of four mysteries featuring Miami cop Hoke Moseley. You might have seen the Jennifer Jason Leigh/Alec Baldwin movie Miami Blues which featured Fred Ward as Sgt. Moseley, and which had some great film of Miami and Miami Beach. There is an introduction to the re-release of New Hope for the Dead by James Lee Burke in which he credits Willeford with helping him get his start in publishing. They taught together at Miami-Dade Community College. The Willeford books are not easy to find but they are a treat when you do. Some excerpts can be found here.

Adults Reclaim Library

The kids are back in school and the library belongs to adults until 3:30 PM, or so. We have quiet space, available computers, nooks for reading, and plenty of books for browsing. Welcome back and enjoy the quiet.

I am back from a week of vacation during which I stayed home and read 7 books, worked in the garden, and had visitors from Topeka, Wichita, Eldorado, and Scottsdale. I like time off.

I owe Gerri George thanks for reminding me that I liked to read mysteries by Giles Blunt. He writes a good mystery, which he sets in Algonquin Bay, Ontario. They are procedurals with likable characters and stories that flow. We own Forty Words for Sorrow, Black Fly Season, The Delicate Storm, and By the Time You Read This, all enjoyable stories featuring Detective John Cardinal. Blunt spent 20 years living in New York writing for Law & Order and other TV programs.

I also finished Larry McMurtry's Buffalo Girls which will be discussed at my "last Tuesday of the month book discussion" group. Next month we will be reading and discussing Doctorow's Ragtime. The September discussion will take place at 10:30 AM on September 25th. Everyone is welcome to attend but to join in the discussion you will need to read the book. There are multiple copies available on top of the New Book shelves.